Quota reform movement: Six women, girls shot dead

Mustafizur Rahman, 29, lost his mother Maya Islam, 60, in the shooting. His son Basit Khan Musa, 7, is fighting for his life at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital after being hit by a bullet on head.

Mustafizur’s mother and son received bullet wounds on 19 July near the staircase of their house in Dhaka’s Rampura. While talking with Prothom Alo on Sunday, Mostafizur asked why people could not remain safe even inside their homes.

Not only Maya Islam, others like Sumaiya Akter, 20, Naima Sultana, 15, Riya Gope, 6, Nasima Akter, 24, and domestic help Liza Aktar, 19, were not spared from bullets inside their houses.

Deaths of at least 580 were reported during the quota reform movement and subsequent violence. At least six of them are women, teenage girls and girl children. All of them died after being hit by bullets on 18-20 July.

There are allegations that police, RAB and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel used firearms and shot protesters indiscriminately to quell the protests that ultimately led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina government.

Of the six women, teenagers and girls killed, three were shot in the head, two in the abdomen and one in the throat. Sumaiya, Naima and Liza were shot while on the balcony of their houses. Riya and Nasima were shot while on the roof. Maya Islam was shot while inside the 'collapsible gate' on the ground floor of her house.

Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of prime minister and left the country on 5 August. Police started filing cases in Dhaka over the death of people in protests. The police in the case statements alleged that the victims died in indiscriminate firing by criminals.

However, Brigadier General M Sakhawat Hossain, home adviser to the interim government’s chief adviser, on Sunday told the journalists that it was not a right decision to give lethal weapons to police. The police who misused this would be brought to book.

Maya Islam’s son Mustafizur told Prothom Alo that he lives at a rented flat at Meradia Haat area in front of Rampura police station. Maya Islam used to live there with the family. Mustafizur has an electronics shop at Malibagh Bazar.

Mustafizur is the elder of Maya Islam’s two offspring. He said Maya went downstairs around 3:00pm on 19 July with her grandchild Basit as the clashes subsided a bit. She wanted to buy ice cream for Basit. As she went downstairs, a bullet hit the head Basit and entered through her lower abdomen.

Hit by a bullet, Maya Islam was taken to a local hospital first. After primary treatment, she was taken to the house of a relative. As her condition had deteriorated, she was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she was declared dead. Mustafizur said a certain government agency called to confirm about the death of Maya. He does not have to pay the bills of ICU for his son but has to buy medicines and bear the costs of medical examinations.

Mustafizur on Sunday said his mother Maya would look after his son Basit and everything of the family.

Tenth grader Naima Sultana would have turned 15 a few days later.

Around 5:00pm on 19 July, she was shot dead while on the balcony to bring the clothes hung for drying.

Naima was second among three offspring of homeopathic doctor Golam Mostafa and Ainun Nahar from Matlab Uttar upazila in Chandpur. She was a student of Milestone School and College. Naima was buried at her village home.

Ainun Nahar lives on the third floor of a five-storied building at Uttara sector 5. She said all the doors and windows were shut on the fateful day.

Naima was drawing and told her mother that she would make pizza.

Suddenly she said ‘let me bring the clothes from verandah’ with her mother on her heels. As soon as Naima opened the door leading to the balcony, a bullet hit her head.

‘I could not even imagine that we would become so unsafe inside the house. Fear has gripped me. My elder son (eight-year-old) has become ill seeing so much blood. He wakes up from sleep screaming now.

Naima wanted to become a physician. All her dreams have now come to an end,’ added Ainun Nahar.

On 19 July, the six-year-old Riya Gope was playing on the roof of her family's four-storey building in the Naya Mati area of Narayanganj Sadar.

As clashes broke out outside, her father Dipak Kumar Gope rushed to the roof to get her inside. As Dipak took her in his arms, a bullet hit Riya in her head.

Riya was the only child of businessman Dipak Kumar and Beauty Ghosh. Riya was a first grader.

Dipak Kumar said he can no longer focus on anything. Riya’s mother Beauty Ghosh is also mentally devastated.

Nasima Akhter, 24, went to the roof with her two nephews on 19 July. He was shot there and died the next day while undergoing treatment in a private hospital in the capital. His nephew Ayman Uddin, 20, was shot.

Nasima’s sister-in-law Rehana Akhtar broke down in tears while talking about that day last Sunday. She said the bullet entered through one side of his son's chest and exited through Nasima's cheek.

Rehana's husband Helal Uddin lives in Spain. She lives at a rented apartment in a nine-storied building at Dhanmondi road no. 1 with his three sons and sister-in-law. Two weeks before the incident, Nasima came to visit her home from Noakhali. Her son Ayman returned home on 5 August after 15 days of treatment.

Ayman told Prothom Alo that he along with his elder brother Salman Uddin, Nasima and some others from the apartment were on the roof of the building at that time. Suddenly a bullet hit him.

Nasima was the eldest of seven offspring of Yousuf Ali and Saleha Begum. She was buried at her maternal grandfather’s home in Noakhali’s Begumgonj.

Liza Akter, 19, was a domestic help at a house in city’s Shantinagar. She used to work at a flat on the sixth floor of a 12-storied building. She was hit with a bullet on the balcony around 3:00pm on 18 July.

The family Liza had lived with got her admitted at Arora Specialized Hospital. After primary treatment there, she was admitted to Popular Medical College Hospital, where she succumbed to her wounds on 22 July.

She was buried at her family graveyard in Bhola’s Borhanuddin upazila.
Prothom Alo’s Bhola correspondent Neyamatullah talked with Liza’s elder sister Salma Akter, 28. Salma said she doesn't want any justice over the killing.

From whom will she seek justice, asked Salma.

Sumaiya Akhtar, 20, was shot dead on the balcony of his house at around 6:30pm on 20 July. She has a two-and-a-half-month-old baby. He lived with his family on the sixth floor of a building at Painadi in Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj.

Symaiya’s mother Asma Begum told Prothom Alo on Sunday that a helicopter was hovering above during the incident. Asma and her daughter Sumaiya stood on the balcony to see the helicopter. Sumaiya suddenly collapsed after being hit by a bullet on her head.

Asma initially thought Sumaiya got frightened, but after grabbing her Asma saw blood gushing out of her head. Sumaiya died on the spot.

Sumaiya’s husband Jahid Hossain works at a garments factory as operator at Kanchpur.

Asma said Sumaiya’s infant Sowaiba now looks for mother and her touch. She craves breast milk before going to sleep.

'To whom will I seek justice for the murder of my daughter?' Asma asked.